Methods, arrangements and structures related to the above-mentioned technical area or field and character are known earlier in a plurality of different embodiments.
Electrically driven vehicles may to advantage be categorized as “railbound vehicles” or “non-railbound vehicles”.
“Railbound vehicles” are conveyed along their roadway and its road portions by parallel rails, which are positioned in the direction of the roadway, which are openly disposed by means of sleepers and which guide the fixed pair of wheels of the vehicle.
“Non-railbound vehicles” are conveyed along their roadway and its road portions by means of a steering or control equipment belonging to the vehicle.
The present invention is based on and is intended to be utilized in the latter category and technology and is primarily intended to be applicable on heavy trucks or lorries, with or without a trailer connected thereto, wherein from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,203-A it is known a vehicle-related arrangement for letting contact springs, positioned below and under the vehicle, move upwardly and downwardly and sideways, with the contact springs lying under the vehicle for a mechanical and electrical cooperation with non-insulated surface portions of the electric conductors (14) associated with each of the road portions.
Utilizing an insulator (16) inside a channel (18), which supports the conductors in the form of rails (14) is indicated here. A cover plate (20) provided with a slit (12) is removably attached to the upper and opposing wall portions of the channel (18), with said cover plate (20) being adjusted to a plane connecting to the upper surface (22) of the road portion.
FIGS. 2 and 3 in the mentioned patent publication describe a vehicle-related table (98), to which table an arm (10) is rotatably secured (94, 96, 99). Sensors (30), associated with the table (98), generate signals, which with regard to their phase positions and magnitudes indicate the direction of and the distance from an axis (99) of rotation to the slit (12) in the cover plate (20), which signals are based on changes in a generated magnetic field. The table (98) and the arm (10) may be driven by a motor (32) between limits determined beforehand and limit breakers (40, 41) placed there.
Patent publication WO 93/10995-A discloses an earlier known system for conveying electrically driven vehicles along a roadway and its road portions.
FIG. 9 of the above-mentioned patent publication clarifies the basic structure of the system.
It is indicated here that the roadway (14) and its road portions are provided with electrically conductive road sections (300a-30Of), wherein a road section can be considered to correspond to a road portion.
The vehicles (310) have an electric motor (320) and two (312, 314) or three (312, 312′ and 314, respectively) contact springs placed thereunder and being adapted for mechanical and electrical contact with uninsulated electrically conductive conductors, the lengths of which are adapted to correspond to a chosen length (identically equal lengths) for utilized road sections.
The electrically conductive conductors in the road sections (300a-30Of) are disposed behind each other with an intermediately disposed free space (302a-302e) so as to thereby avoid a short circuit between sliding contact springs (312, 312′, 314, respectively).
Every second road section (300b, 30Od, 30Of, respectively) in a line of road sections is connected continuoually to a reference voltage (ground potential), whereas the remaining or intermediate road sections (300a, 300c and 20Oe, respectively) can either be connected directly to a direct current voltage source (440) or be connected over a switching means (304a, 304b, 304c, respectively) to any appropriate electric source of energy (308), when a vehicle is in its vicinity.
When an embodiment is exposing that three contact springs are utilized, the distance between the latter is to be chosen such, that two or three contact springs always are in an electric contact with respective of two road sections exhibiting opposite polarities and so that neither of the two contacts is able to short circuit the free space (302a-302e) between two adjacent road sections.
This system here requires specially constructed vehicles (310) for its function, in which vehicles a chosen distance between forward contacts (314) and rearward contacts (312, 312′) is to be identically equal and furthermore selected somewhat longer than the equal lengths of the road sections (300b, 30Od).
Thus, specially constructed vehicles, having front contacts and rear contacts, are required and in which the respective ones of the utilized road sections (300a-30Of) are to be chosen with mutually equal lengths and they are to be disposed after each other in the direction of travel of the vehicle, with equal mutual open and intermediate spaces (302a-302e).
The remainder of the patent publication indicates the presence of a single conductor or rail subjected to voltage within a road portion (page 5, lines 11-13) and that a vehicle is to request voltage to a road portion in front thereof (page 5, lines 19-21; page 6, lines 7-10; page 8, lines 28-32).
Furthermore it is indicated that rails (16), which may be subjected to voltage, are to be able to be provided with drain tracks (page 9, lines 1-4) positioned at the sides.
Lack of (or the presence of) an activating signal is to be able to actuate a control unit (38), (page 8, lines 23-27).
The necessary distance between contacts belonging to a vehicle is mentioned in page 10, lines 17-20, and a utilizing activity is initiated as radio signals, and is proposed on page 11, lines 2-4 and page 14, lines 1-16, respectively.
Furthermore, in page 15, lines 21-23 and in page 16, lines 1-15, the utilizing of a “Hall”-element (240) and the connection of the same to an amplifier (246), are proposed. Furthermore, alternatives of this element are illustrated in page 17, lines 3-9.
It is also known to propel or move a vehicle electrically along a roadway by means of an inductive transfer of energy, which is activated between a vehicle and a road portion lying therebelow.
As examples of this known technology reference is made to the contents of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,914,562-A and 4,007,817-A, respectively.
The present invention concerns a concentrating to or an application to a roadway, exposing an upwardly open track or tracks adapted to each other to from one road portion and adjacent road portions, each with at least two, preferably three, parallel 5 electric conductors introduced in each of, or selected, track portions, such as formed with uninsulated surface sections, and concerns an arrangement for ensuring a tracking or a testing of an adjacent road portion before that road portion becomes the object of applying voltage to the parallel electric conductors belonging to this adjacent and succeeding road portion (such as a road portion in front thereof).